Susan Taylor and Scott Nuttall.

On the same day, Scott Nuttall, from Durham, popped the question to his girlfriend Susan Taylor in highly original fashion – by displaying a large ‘will you marry me?’ banner on the beach, while she was in a plane above, during what she thought was a routine flying lesson. To his delight, the eye-catching proposal worked – she said yes!

During Sam Smith’s visit to Bamburgh, the Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter, who has just recorded the theme tune for the new James Bond film Spectre, posted on his public Instagram account.

He said that he was spending time with his family and posted numerous shots of his time in the area. In one picture of him in front of the castle, he posted the words ‘king of the castle’.

On Sunday, the 23-year-old tweeted a very cosy looking picture of him enjoying the famous Harry Potter films.

Sam Smith

In keeping with the Northumberland theme, the first two movies were filmed at Alnwick Castle, which doubled up as Hogwarts.

Heaping praise on the region, he told his followers on social media: “Lushest weekend away with my family in Whitley Bay/Newcastle eating fish and chips and watching Harry Potter. Been coming here since I was born. It’s my second home and one of my favourite places in the world x.”

Saturday was a day to remember for Army veteran Scott, 31, and his Armed Forces partner Susan, who is based in London.

Susan, 37, thought that she was having a flying lesson, but she couldn’t believe her eyes when she saw Scott’s elaborate and extraordinary wedding proposal on the beach below.

The large banner had the words ‘Susan will you marry me?’ on it. In front of the display was a heart with their first-name initials drawn in the sand.

Scott, who suffered severe knee damage during a tour of Afghanistan, said: “She was in the plane with one of her friends and Susan started crying when she saw the banner. She couldn’t get her words out. It was about 20 seconds before she said yes – it was a very emotional moment for her.”

The couple, who have been together for just over two years, are dreaming of a winter wedding in 2016 and they want their beloved Husky dogs to be there.